There we were, sitting on the floor in
the sadly empty, slightly dusty bedroom, of a house under estate sale. My
daughter, ‘the Middle One’, is holding her breath while plugging in a vintage
hair dryer from the 1950’s and simultaneously praying that she is neither
electrocuted nor the flash point of a sudden fire or explosion. My husband, the Major, is encouraging her and
I’m wondering just how brilliant an idea this actually is. Suddenly it hits me…why are we here??
Oh yes,
it’s his idea!
He’s known for his ideas.
Recently all the grandchildren moved away and left me with freer days and a
quieter house. The Middle daughter had coincidentally left her job to
concentrate on finishing her master’s degree. The Major thought we could use a
little hobby, a way to have some fun and make a little money. Actually, its
more likely he was beckoning us to the dark side of collecting stuff ~ but that’s
just a theory. Like the Pied Piper of old, he lured us with a merry tune and introduced us to the concepts of
estate sales, vintage finds and reselling via Etsy.
So there we were, on the
dingy floor… hoping. Both the heat from the bonnet and the temporary aromas of
age and Final Net let us know that it worked! At 25% off the price on the tiny
white sticker I decided to take a chance on it. After all, it was in fabulous
condition needing only a good wipe down, a shot of Lysol and the removal of a
bit of DippityDo residue.
But how did I know what to
buy? I didn’t. I really didn’t. I saw something, thought ‘hey, that’s pretty
cool’, and ‘well look, it’s a pretty good price, too’. Did some quick searching on Google (yes, while
still sitting on the dingy floor), a little bargaining at the check out and the
next thing I know, the Jeep is being loaded with 21 etched glasses, the hair
dryer, some interesting cassette tapes and various and sundry other finds.
This is how it begins...
The "dark side of collecting stuff?" Oh I know that well! My spousal unit gives me lots of dark looks concerning my tendency to show up with items needing a new home!
ReplyDeleteYou can find such beautiful things at estate sales and such -- often much classier and more functional than the bric-a-brac decorating the high dollar retail establishments and shops. Your "hobby" is likely to be a big success!
Thank you! We agree! I am so impressed by the durability of yester-years products. What a treasure it is to find an item that was well cared for and respected and can now grace another home. I would rather decorate with something that very few people would have then to have my home look like a Pottery Barn catalog, and of course, my pocketbook appreciates that too!
DeleteEnjoy the hunt! -The Middle One